Bottoms Up

(Why there are no photos – yet. I left my camera at the pub, haven’t picked it up yet.)

If you don’t think beer and cheese really go together, you should have been at the Rogue Public Alehouse in San Francisco on Wednesday (Feb. 13, 2008). All I can say is wow!
http://www.sheanadavis.com/
Sheana Davis, a chef who runs The Epicurean Connection in Sonoma did the pairings. Sheana did wine and cheese pairings for a long time, then her friends at the then-startup Lagunitas asked her to try a beer and cheese pairing for them. Those pairings also continue.

The folks at Rogue and Celebrator Beer News publisher Tom Dalldorf chose the beer. What a selection. The pairing drew about 50 people, from as far away as British Columbia, although that couple, John Dowling and his wife came here for the whole Beerapalooza weekend.

My top pairing? Easy: It was Magnolia Pub & Brewery’s Tweezer Tripel paired with Vella Fontinella and dried apricots. The beer is one of Magnolia brewer-founder Dave McLean’s contributions to Strong Beer Month. Both Magnolia and 21st Amendment brewed a string of strong beers which are on tap all month. Sample ‘em all and get a commemorative glass.

Tweezer (My rating ***1/2) , at 9.8 percent’s, no slouch of a beer. Made with a Belgian yeast, it has a fresh, earthy nose and starts out dry, but there’s a mounting sweetness and a lingering follow of ripe fruit. Delicious.

But then take a bite of the cheese – a raw milk cow’s cheese, which is Vella’s version of the Italian Fontina cheese – zap. Wowie! A ***** five star pairing. The cheese seemed to invade the palate and merge with the lingering beer follow, carving little pathways of sensory delight. I capped it off with a piece of dried apricot. Oh my. Heavenly. Vella has been in the town of Sonoma since 1931. You can find the cheese at any well-stocked cheese store in the Bay Area. It’s worth the hunt. Try it with a Belgian Trappist ale or perhaps Ommegang from Brewery Ommegang, Cooperstown, NY.

The next pair including one of my all-time favs, Russian River’s Pliny the Elder. At 8 percent, 100 IBU, it’s a hop bomb. Sheana paired it with Laura Chenel Cabecou, a creamy, nutty chevre (goat cheese). The acidity of the cheese did a nice job of balancing the hoppy, malty Pliny. A tough pairing to do. Nicely accomplished.

For non-foodies, Laura Chenel, single-handedly made goat cheese popular in the U.S., building her Sonoma County goat cheese company into a national icon before selling out in 2006 to The Rians Group, a French cheesemaker.

The next pairing also featured a stunning beer: The Beer Hunter, from 21st Amendment. Find more about this beer named in honor of the late English beer journalist Michael Jackson here. The beer, which is big and malty with lots of hops in our West Coast fashionm was paired with Bellwether Farms Crescenza, which is a soft and creamy cow’s milk cheese, also from Sonoma County.

Another super pairing: The beer envelops the cheese. It’s a pairing worth duplicating at home, one that will amzae and awe your friends, honest.

The piece de resistance was the closer: Rogue Chocolate Stout and bitter chocolate fondue, served with biscoti. Rogue Chocolate’s one of Rogue brewer John Maier’s signature beers: big, hoppy with a dry finish. It was a perfect counterbalance to the sweet-by-comparison bitter cocolate and the definitely sweet biscotti. What a night.

This one’s gonna’ happen again next year, so stayed tuned. Comments anyone. Question: Do you have a favorite pairing or a colossal failure, or do you think the whole idea’s way overrated. Post a comment here or shoot me an e-mail at whatsontap@sbcglobal.net.